old, injured player past his prime....kinda what I said when the deal went down. How much vet leadership did Ahman Green give that overcame his lack of ability to get on the field as a difference maker?

My implication was that if our opponents do what they can to contain Watt as best as possible like they did last year with minimal success, the remaining 10 players on our defense this season don't look as good as the remaining 10 did last year. They ran on us last year fairly well despite Watt so I expect more of the same.

First off, we were 7th against the run last year, 10th if you want to look at ypc. So most teams did not run on us "fairly well" last year. We had some issues with our OLBs, ILBs, and NT last year not playing up to what we would have liked. I think we're going to see improved play from both the NT and ILB spots this year and I think our OLB rotation got more athletic.

I don't know if we're going to improve much from last year but I don't expect to get a lot worse, either.

My implication was that if our opponents do what they can to contain Watt as best as possible like they did last year with minimal success, the remaining 10 players on our defense this season don't look as good as the remaining 10 did last year. They ran on us last year fairly well despite Watt so I expect more of the same.

The Packers & Patriots found a way to minimize Jj Watt. The Patriots did it twice. The blue print is out there, I agree with you, that more teams will copy that blue print.....

It's the same for Kaepernick, Wilson, & RG3. Teams will figure them out.

It's possible that Watt can be like Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Ronnie Lot, Deion Sanders..... & he finds a way to produce at an elite level regardless. But those guys are rare & I haven't seen one on the defense side of the ball in a long, long time.

old, injured player past his prime....kinda what I said when the deal went down. How much vet leadership did Ahman Green give that overcame his lack of ability to get on the field as a difference maker?

The Packers & Patriots found a way to minimize Jj Watt. The Patriots did it twice. The blue print is out there, I agree with you, that more teams will copy that blue print.....

It's the same for Kaepernick, Wilson, & RG3. Teams will figure them out.

It's possible that Watt can be like Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Ronnie Lot, Deion Sanders..... & he finds a way to produce at an elite level regardless. But those guys are rare & I haven't seen one on the defense side of the ball in a long, long time.

Ray Lewis & Brian Urlacher...... maybe?

Just to be clear, I do believe that Watt is special, and will be one of those guys who can personally make a difference despite being double-teamed or strategically planned for. Definitely one of the best football players in the NFL.

I just don't believe that his 10 remaining defensive teammates are going to be any better than just OK. Not bad, but not great. So I think that decent offenses will have a chance to score 17-24 points on us. Our offense just has to deliver.

The Packers & Patriots found a way to minimize Jj Watt. The Patriots did it twice. The blue print is out there, I agree with you, that more teams will copy that blue print.....

It's the same for Kaepernick, Wilson, & RG3. Teams will figure them out.

It's possible that Watt can be like Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Ronnie Lot, Deion Sanders..... & he finds a way to produce at an elite level regardless. But those guys are rare & I haven't seen one on the defense side of the ball in a long, long time.

Ray Lewis & Brian Urlacher...... maybe?

Not every team has the tools, talent and QB to follow that blue print. And Didnt Watt get to Rogers twice ? and he hit brady like 5 times in the first meeting, would be more worried about the LBs and CBs in coverage than the ability of JJ Watt in those games.

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"Oh, yes, and one more thing, dear Lord — about our enemies? Ignore their heathen prayers and help us blow those little bastards straight to hell. Amen again."

People think he's a Colts fan. I'm unsure. I think he's a Texans fan who just really hates Schaub. He likes the Colts as opposed to the Texans because they had Peyton, then got Luck.. "looks" like they are doing everything right, while we waste our time with Schaub.

At least they took out insurance in DJ. TBH as long as he mentors DJ and could potentially help us in the PLAYOFFS, I would be fine with it.

This is my mind set as well. I realize its PreSeason but DJ looks legit! Will he make mistakes? No doubt. What he will need to know to decipher what he sees and react to it. That is taught in the film room.

The Packers & Patriots found a way to minimize Jj Watt. The Patriots did it twice. The blue print is out there, I agree with you, that more teams will copy that blue print.....

It's the same for Kaepernick, Wilson, & RG3. Teams will figure them out.

It's possible that Watt can be like Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Ronnie Lot, Deion Sanders..... & he finds a way to produce at an elite level regardless. But those guys are rare & I haven't seen one on the defense side of the ball in a long, long time.

Ray Lewis & Brian Urlacher...... maybe?

Hmm, the Packers minimized him to 2 sacks, 5 tackles and 1 assist. The Patriots did a better job on him, holding him to .5 sacks, 3 tackles, 5 assists and 1 forced fumble.

Can't say it's much of a blueprint, but if teams want to use it...go for it.

__________________Kubiak: "They’re battling their tail off."Translation: They suck.OB: "They played hard with great effort."Translation: They suck.

Just to be clear, I do believe that Watt is special, and will be one of those guys who can personally make a difference despite being double-teamed or strategically planned for. Definitely one of the best football players in the NFL.

I just don't believe that his 10 remaining defensive teammates are going to be any better than just OK. Not bad, but not great. So I think that decent offenses will have a chance to score 17-24 points on us. Our offense just has to deliver.

Just to give some context to this...

17 points per game over an entire season comes to 272 points total. Last year, only 1 defense did better than that: the Seahawks who gave up 15 points per game. We gave up 20 points per game and we were ranked 10th in the league.

24 points per game over an entire season comes to 384 points total. Last year, that would have been good enough for 20th and better than the Colts, Cowboys, Redskins, Jaguars, and Titans... among others.

Our defense was doing pretty good, keeping most opponents under 20 points, until the last several games of the season. I think our issues at ILB were just too much by that point and people started taking advantage of us. If we can keep Cush upright and playing fierce, I think we can improve our points allowed per game.

17 points per game over an entire season comes to 272 points total. Last year, only 1 defense did better than that: the Seahawks who gave up 15 points per game. We gave up 20 points per game and we were ranked 10th in the league.

24 points per game over an entire season comes to 384 points total. Last year, that would have been good enough for 20th and better than the Colts, Cowboys, Redskins, Jaguars, and Titans... among others.

Our defense was doing pretty good, keeping most opponents under 20 points, until the last several games of the season. I think our issues at ILB were just too much by that point and people started taking advantage of us. If we can keep Cush upright and playing fierce, I think we can improve our points allowed per game.

If we can do that, we're going to be tough to beat.

Especially the Pats. Our ILBs were getting abused in the passing game. They knew it was our weakest link and attacked the heck out of it.

__________________Kubiak: "They’re battling their tail off."Translation: They suck.OB: "They played hard with great effort."Translation: They suck.

Ed Reed’s contract has $1 million worth of per-game incentives, meaning for each game he plays, Reed collects $62,500.

Interesting in that incentives are categorized as either "Likely to be Earned" (LTBE) or "Not Likely to be Earned" (NLTBE). Their names are pretty self explanatory. LTBE incentives count towards the cap while NLTBE incentives do not. But the way it goes is that if the player achieves those NLTBE incentives then they count toward the following year's cap. So how would you really categorize Reed's incentive??

I'd catagorize his incentives as very doubtful, just like his chances of seeing the field in the first half of the season. This FA signing is backfiring on us so far, we'll see what happens for the season but it's not looking good.

I'd catagorize his incentives as very doubtful, just like his chances of seeing the field in the first half of the season. This FA signing is backfiring on us so far, we'll see what happens for the season but it's not looking good.

Like Reed already said, if the Super Bowl were today he'd be playing. If Reed plays second half/playoffs for us that is a BIG win for me, especially as Swearinger gets better as the season goes on and it all comes together in time for stretch run.

Could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Reed missed the pre season last year too.

Interesting in that incentives are categorized as either "Likely to be Earned" (LTBE) or "Not Likely to be Earned" (NLTBE). Their names are pretty self explanatory. LTBE incentives count towards the cap while NLTBE incentives do not. But the way it goes is that if the player achieves those NLTBE incentives then they count toward the following year's cap. So how would you really categorize Reed's incentive??

Here's the CBA language on incentives being "Likely" or "Not Likely":

Quote:

Any and all incentive amounts, including but not limited to performance bonuses, shall be included in Team Salary if they are “likely to be earned” during such League Year based upon the player’s and/or Team’s performance during the prior year.

The bolded part is what drives the determination. Ed Reed played all 16 regular season games for the Ravens last season, therefore, the entire $1 Million is considered "Likely to be earned". Should he miss any games in the 2013 regular season, the Texans will be credited $62,500 against the 2014 salary cap for each game missed (Assuming of course that Schefter's info is correct).

__________________
Being a D-bag and being factually correct are not in any way mutually exclusive!

I'd catagorize his incentives as very doubtful, just like his chances of seeing the field in the first half of the season. This FA signing is backfiring on us so far, we'll see what happens for the season but it's not looking good.

It's backfiring because he hasn't played in the Preseason?

I'm not concerned at all. My gut says he's starting week 3 but hypothetically if he's PUP'd and returns for the KC game I'm still cool with that. The games in Dec-Feb are what we brought him in for.